Body found in drum at recycling company in Saitama

A recycling company in Yoshikawa, Saitama, discovered what appeared to be an elderly woman’s body inside a metal drum after an employee called police around 3:50 p.m., following the spotting of a foot in the container. The drum, measuring about 90 cm deep and 60 cm wide, had been stored since February at a Tokorozawa facility, reportedly due to unpaid storage fees. The body, found clothed and wrapped in a blue tarp, showed no external injuries despite an autopsy. Police are treating the case as abandoned and working to identify the victim and determine the cause of death.